my hill

It's a topsy-turvy world, and maybe the problems of two people don't amount to a hill of beans. But this is our hill. And these are our beans! - Frank Drebin

Since starting anew, I've been crawling thru my journey into the world of animal welfare.  Despite my being a noob (again), past experience has helped to minimize rookie mistakes. It's always taken me about three months to feel comfortable in any new job. Dogtown has been no exception despite it also being a new and different career than the one prior. There have been many challenges and subsequent successes along the way which confirmed that I'd made the right choices. This isn't to say that there haven't been any downsides.

I earn about a third of what I used to. This in of itself isn't bad in lieu of my starting out with a lack of debt. However the town I live in is a bit of a tourist trap which equates to slightly higher prices for your average goods. I get around that by my monthly trips to the Walmart an hour away. I know a lot of people are in favor of supporting mom'n'pop places over big box stores, but I say screw that and you too. People gotta make the most of what they've got and if mom'n'pop can't compete then so be it. There are a few local business' who don't out-price the locals which is where I spend my money instead. It's also harder to save, but I feel this is temporary since I started out entry level. As I work my way up the ladder here, my pay scale will follow accordingly.

One of the fringe benefits I've recently experienced is that some volunteers understand and appreciate how much we work versus how little we earn. They treat us to meals and/or gifts to help make life a little more pleasant. It's the personal interaction with them and the animals that makes the experience worthwhile.

Living in a small town versus a large city definitely reduces the convenience factor which is almost doubled when you couple it with it being in a Mormon state. The upside is that I'm not, nor have been in a very long while, into the nightlife. I'm happy with my TV shows, a good book, or some Xbox time indoors.

My trailer has buckled (if ever so slightly) under the strains of full time living. I've answered those calls and made reparations as/when needed. She's still holding tough while providing B and myself safe haven. We even managed to avoid potentially disastrous quicksand episode two weeks ago.

Looks like we've got more catching up to do than I'd thought. More to come!